Nice Guys Finish Last
by cottonspore
Summary: "I have something I need to say to you." A declaration of love or a declaration of war?


Vermillion rays of the setting sun painted the landscape as the dying winds slightly tussled the leaves of the trees. A relentless barrage of swings caused metal blades to connect with one another until the wielder of the sword blocked the cloven spear in such a way to indicate a timeout.

"Okay, I think I'm done for the evening, Xingcai."

"But it's barely been 30 minutes, Liu Shan. 30 minutes is inadequate time for training."

"But my chest hurts," Liu Shan mewled, holding his chest as if his lungs were going to pop out with each breath he took. He hitched his sword into the ground then lowered himself beside it to fully catch his breath. Xingcai lowered her shield and fork and heaved a deep sigh.

"My lord, how is that you can be so out of shape? If you've been practicing daily, you shouldn't be so exhausted already," Xingcai admonished as she stepped closer to Liu Shan. "You _did_ train when I was unable to be your sparring partner throughout the week, right?"

Liu Shan gave a guilty smile and averted his gaze to the castle walls. "Well, there might have been some days where I wasn't able to practice, aha."

Xingcai sighed again and straightened her posture. "Tomorrow we train for a full hour. No excuses."

"Xingcai, if you want, we can brush up on our training while Liu Shan catches his breath." Rising from the small boulder from which he sat upon, Guan Ping stood up eagerly, already dislodging his giant sword that was anchored into the ground. "We can spar for the next 30 minutes, or a full hour if you'd like,"

"You've already practiced with your father, and the sun is about to set anyways. Maybe tomorrow." Xingcai declared, already turning her back to the boys and making her way toward the castle.

"But you shouldn't have to cut your training-"

"I'll see you both at dinner." Xingcai finalized, interrupting Guan Ping's insistence.

With disappointment replacing gravity for the time being, Guan Ping slumped over in defeat and continued to pull his sword out of the ground, but with less enthusiasm than before. Saddened eyes watched a feminine outline breach castle doors before turning over to a panting Liu Shan.

 _"What is it about you?_

 _What makes you so damn special?_

 _What is it about you that only_ _ **you are worth her time?"**_

What was disappointment soon turned into annoyance as Guan Ping eyed his wiped-out lord. But it was only for a second once Guan Ping realized what he was doing. Liu Shan had begun to pick himself up until Guan Ping walked over and offered him a hand.

"My lord, you should know better than to try and skip training. Nothing goes past Xingcai unnoticed." Guan Ping chided playfully as he hoisted Liu Shan to his feet.

"Ahaha, you definitely speak the truth. Maybe tomorrow will prove to be a better day," Liu Shan brushed his robe with his hand to free any remaining lumps of dirt that might have been stuck to his bottom.

"Why is it that you dislike training so much, my lord? That's if I may ask," realizing that he might have been out of line, Guan Ping left the question open-ended.

"Ahh, well, one day, I just hope," Liu Shan looked off into the dimming horizon with a small smile beginning to form on his lips. "I just hope, that none of this will even need to matter. I strive to unify this land to happiness – fighting will be unnecessary since we'll all be getting along and there will be no need to even know how to harm each other like this. I pray that those days come soon."

Guan Ping eyed his lord as if he was trying to read past a deceptive front, but kept himself in check to prevent the previous slip-up from happening again. Guan Ping looked at the ground briefly, then gently nudged Liu Shan on the shoulder.

"Let's go inside – dinner must be almost ready by now." Guan Ping lifted then steadied his sword over his right shoulder. Liu Shan nodded in agreement and joined Guan Ping in step as they made their way to the castle.

* * *

"Hey boy, it's nothing to be ashamed of! You're what they call, a uh, a-a late bloomer!" What started out as suppressed snickers turned into a roar of laughter as all of the men around the table began to laugh.

"No no, that's not what a late bloomer ish! Don't lishen to them Guan Ping – everyone was shingle at one point," said a masked man whose hat took up the space of two people. "They're jusht leading you on."

"Pang Tong is, er, right, Guan Ping. I am also single, and," before he could continue speaking, the young man who went by the name of Zhao Yun let out a succession of giggles as he clumsily sat his cup of sake down onto the table, spilling what little was left. Another man who had a similar hairstyle as Zhao Yun began to laugh at the sight of Zhao Yun giggling - both having a great time just laughing.

Guan Ping laughed nervously as he was only just beginning to get drunk. A warm, belt of red was coloring his cheeks as the alcohol began to set in. The dinner table for the warriors turned into a different scene once Liu Bei , Liu Shan, and all of the ladies left. Thinking he could discreetly consult one of his comrades for advice proved to be a major mistake once the alcohol got out of hand.

"Okay okay okay, take it, take it from me, pal," Ma Dai articulated every word he spoke with his hands as he tried to explain himself. "What you do is..what you do is this,"

Ma Dai's expression turned serious but it was obvious he was too drunk to even think clearly. Everyone who was paying any attention waited for Ma Dai to say something other than what he already said. "What you..what you wanna do is..you wanna do this because,"

"No no no, that's a terrible idea!" Huang Zhong jumped in, even though Ma Dai said essentially nothing. "You young'uns always want to wow women with your good looks, but what you really need is some skill! Women like a man who knows his way around the battlefield, and the scars to prove it!"

"You [hic!], y-you old man, a woman likes a man who comes back alive from the battlefield! You can only [hic!], err, you can only get but so many scars until one of them will be your last!" Ma Chao slammed his hand onto the table as if he had been greatly offended.

"You young boys know nothing," Huang Zhong crossed his arms in front of his chest as he childishly blocked out whatever else Ma Chao was ranting about.

Guan Ping simply sat and watched everyone argue over what was the right way to get a woman, what a late bloomer was, and if he was adequate enough to even get a woman. Done with the discussion and kind of too drunk to care, Guan Ping clumsily got out of his seat and took heavy steps out of the room.

 _"How is that..After all that I strive to be, all of the effort I put into it, and all of the time I take..After all of that, I still amount to nothing?_

 _And how is that he, who barely strives to be like his father, who barely puts any effort into anything, and who barely takes the time to try..how is it that he gets it all?"_

Stumbling a bit as he made his way down the long corridor leading to the courtyard, Guan Ping ruffled his hair as he thought long and hard as to why he seemed to always come up short. Halfway there, the swift sound of the air being cut by a swinging object caught Guan Ping's attention, making him stop to listen. The only light available was that of the torches that lined the castle walls and the few that dimly lit the courtyard. As quietly as a drunken man could, Guan Ping plodded down the hall on his toes and continued to listen out for the sound.

Once at the doorway of the courtyard, Guan Ping stealthily peered around the door frame and watched the shimmer of the metal catch the light of the fire. Its wielder continued to thrust and swing, panting from the constant movement and for however long they were out there. Though his thoughts were a little muddled, Guan Ping began to weigh his options as he continued to watch.

 _"We're friends.._

 _We're all friends.._

 _Would she be sad if..she knew I thought these thoughts? It doesn't have to result to..that..but.._

 _What if I ended this right now?_

 _What if.._

 _I got him out of the way?"_

Guan Ping felt a little guilty about what he just allowed to enter his mind, but the more he tried to hold it back, the more it burned in the forefront of his mind.

 _"I could get rid of him,_

 _Or just confess how I feel.."_

After a moment of hazy thought, Guan Ping finally collected himself and started out towards the courtyard again. Right as he was about to cross the threshold of the castle, he noticed that there wasn't any swinging going on and rounded back into the castle to hide behind the door frame again.

"I know it's you Guan Ping,"

His heart racing to the point of possible explosion, Guan Ping continued to keep himself concealed within castle walls. The alcohol had delayed his ability to observe correctly and he didn't even register that they had stopped swinging. Trying his best to think of what he should do next was futile since nothing was piecing together correctly in his mind. His headband was partially saturated with the nervous sweat that collected on his forehead and the atmosphere seemed to have risen another ten degrees. Finding it pointless to keep himself hidden after being discovered, Guan Ping turned the corner and began to walk with purpose, tripping a little bit every fourth step. Without a single hint of a cajoling smile or goodwill, Guan Ping spoke.

"I have something I need to say to you."


End file.
